Coal mine haulage vehicle



Sept. 25, 1951 C, A PRATT 2,569,336

COAL MINE HAULAGE VEHICLE I Filed July 2, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Sept. 25, 1951 c. A. PRATT coAL MINE EAULAGE VEHICLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 2, 1949 INVENToR. E BCY Lr/[e5 Prat@ 7TT0R/VEY Sept. 25, 1951 c. A. PRATT 2,569,336

' COAL MINE HAULAGE VEHICLE Filed July 2, 1.949 v s sheets-sheet s IN V EN TOR.

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r1 Tram/Ey Patented Sept. 25, 195i COAL MINE HAULAGE VEHICLE:

Charles A. Pratt, Chicago, Ill., assignor to `GoodV man Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a

corporation of Illinois Application July 2, 1949, Serial No. 102,899

6 claims. (c1. 1414-8332) This invention relates to improvements in coal lmine haulage vehicles commonly known in the art as shuttle cars, of the type used for transporting coal or other like materials from a working place to a main haulage system of a mine.

More particularly this invention is directed to a new and improved elevating discharge end adapted for use in the type of vehicle disclosed in my prior application Ser. No. 73,460, led on January 29, A1949, and now Patent No. 2,549,852 granted April '24, 1951.

One of the objects of this invention is to pro- `vide a new and improved conveyor structure for carrying the material along the bottom of the material carrying compartment of the shuttle oar.

A further object is to provide means for elevating the discharge end of the conveyor structure whereby the material may be discharged at levels Vabove the level of the main conveyor bed of the shuttle car, thus eliminating the necessity of a built-up ramp for raising the shuttle car to the desired, level during discharge.

- These and other objects will appear from time to time as the following specication proceeds and .with reference to the accompanying drawings in .which like numerals are employed to designate .like parts and wherein:

Figure` 1 is a top plan View of a vehicle con- ;strcted in accordance with my invention; 'Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the vehicle VYshown in Figure l, showing the elevating discharge end in normal and raised positions;

' Figure 3 is an enlarged detail side elevation of the discharge end of the vehicle in cross section taken substantially along line 3 3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional end view :of the elevating end taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2, showing the arrangement of the conveyors and the pivotal connection of the elevating discharge end to the vehicle;

vFigure 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken along line 5--5 of Figure 1, showing the connecting means between the xed and elevating discharge portions of the conveyor bed;

Figure 6 is an enlarged cross sectional end view showing the arrangement of the screw conveyors in the horizontal conveyor bed portion taken along line 6 6 of Figure 2; and v Figure 7 is an enlarged partial end View of the Vloading end of the vehicle with parts broken away -to show the arrangement of the means for rotat- '.ing the individual screw conveyors of the bed of lscrew conveyors.

. Referring Vnowto the details of vthe embodithe vehicle.

ment of my invention illustrated in thedrawings, the vehicle illustrated herein has many .features in common with that disclosed ,in my prior application. referred to above,.the principal im- 5 piovements thereover relating to the adjustable 10 pair of vertically disposed laterally spaced L- shaped beams 22, 22 and two vertically disposed plates 23, 23 attached to said` beams to form side walls 24, 24 vnclosing a central Vcoal or material 1 carrying compartment 25 extending the length'of At oneA end of the vehicle the side walls 24 flare outwardly to form a widened hopper ,portion 26 adapted to accommodate thev loading boom ,of ',a suitable loading device or machine. An end plate 28 is cross connected betweenthe side walls 24 along with a bumper 2S to form the extreme loadingend of the vehicle.4 Y The chassis 2| may be supported by suitable y.rubber-tired wheels. In the form shown herein two drive wheels 3l), 30 are provided near the rear or loading endof the vehicle mounted on `stub axle structures 3|, 3| substantially as describedin U.,S. Patent No. 2,405,636 of W. R. Beck, so need not be described more fully herein. Twov front wheels 32, 32 are adapted for vsteering the vehicle, and are mounted at` opposite ends of asuitable equalizing bar structure 33, near the frontor discharge end of the vehicle, Two driving mechanisms .34, provided for driving the rearwheels 3|, are positioned vone at each side of the vehicle between .the :rear drive wheels 3|). Protective deck plates 3'! extend along the outside of the vside walls 24 curving Y downwardly behind the rear wheels 30, to form guard wells 4| therefor. -A deck plate 38, adjacent the forward end of plate 40 3l, extends outwardly from near the upper-edge of each-side wall 24curving downwardly tofor'rn guard -wells 39 for the front wheels 32. An operators platform{42, bearing the usual control devices, may be disposed at-a forward corner-of 'the vehicle outside aside wall 24, as usual, while a cable reel structure and spooling device 43 may be located substantially opposite the operators vplatform 42, as convenience may dictate (see Fig- Vure 1). Y

Suitable cross beam frame members 45, 45Lare transversely fixed between` the L-shaped beams 22, thereby` crossconnecting the side wall 24Y attached to the upper sides of said beams to form vsupport forthe bottom of .the material carrying compartment. .A horizontal bed of iscrewconveyors 44 extends along the bottom of the material carrying compartment 25 from the rear or loading end to a point about midway the length of the vehicle 20. A horizontal plate structure 46 positioned above the cross beams 45, and beneath the bed of screw conveyors 44, is characterized by a plurality of half circular trough sections 41 in which theindividual screw conveyors nest. The structure 41 in turn may be rigidly supported by a reinforcing horizontal plate 48 secured directly to the cross beams 45.

Referring now to the principal.featuresV of Vmy present invention and what are considered as the improvements in the structure disclosedain my proir application Ser. No. 743,460:

Whereas in application Ser. No. 73,460 the bottom of the coal carrying compartment25 extends its full length of the vehicle in a single horizontal plane, my present inventionisL-characterized by a coal carrying compartment with an adjustable dischargeyc'onveyor portion @fior elevating thematerialbefore discharging it from .one end oi the vehicle, such as would be desirable when discharging into a mine carwith sides Y higher than the ordinaryshuttle car bottom level.

The elevatingconveyor structure shown herein comprises a pair of vertical side plates l|), disposed in upright position at the outerlateral edges of a supporting bottom plate 5I. The elements just described form a discharge chute 52 "inthe form of an open ended three-sided box vadapted to iit between the side walls 24, resting in an upwardly inclined position Vnear the discharge Aend of the -material carrying compartmentr25. The chute 52 is pivotally connected at its inner endgfor vertical arcuate movement about ratransverse pivot bar Yand hinge 53 attached to the bottom plate A5l and extending transversely between the L-shaped beams 22 Where thefplates 5I and 48 meet vrnear the middle of the vehicle. A pair of hydraulic Arams-o1` Vjacks 54, 54, actuated -by suitable hydraulic pump and vfluid connections, not-shown, may vbe disposed beneath ,the plate `5I near its outer end andsecured between one of Ythe supporting cross 4beams=45 and plate 5l for elevating-the discharge chute 52. A supportingtrough plate structure 56 lsimilar in lconstruction to the-plate structure '.46 is posi- `tioned on the upper-side ofthe V.plate 5I, to -form Aa series of nesting vtroughs 51 -for .a conveyor structure mounted therein. A sliding bottom plate member 58 may be Vpivotally connectedto Athe supporting plate .48iby pivot bar 1and-,hinge ,59.similar to the pivotbar .53,ftofprovide a sliding joint in the bottom of the coal carrying compartment betweenrbottom plate 5l of thedischarge chute 52 and plate 4:48 so as to insure an -.inclosed bottom during the elevation of the disform shown herein,-six individual screwv Conveyors 160 are ,employedvto make Vup a screw conveyor bed 64, .whichdiiers from .the bed of con- -veyors 44 in thateach individual screw conveyor .60 is composed of two longitudinal .sections or 'lengths of conveyor, .with differing .linealgflight Vl-vvill be more fully explained hereafter under the description of -the vehicles operation. Also, the discharge length 6| is shown terminated a short `distance fromthe outer end of the bottom plate v-5Lleavingfaportion of discharge plate 63 over which the coal is iinally discharged. For ease Y ofdischarge the plate portion 63 of plate 5I may be inclineddownwardly.

--Eachindividual screw conveyor of both the horizontal bed of screw, conveyors 44 and the elevating discharge-bed of conveyors Yl4 is-suitably housed for rotational movementon-its respective plate structure 4B or-56 by means of sleevetsfpe end bearing structures 65 Iand an intermediate bearing structure 66 similai` in construction to those described in my Vapplication SierNo. 13,460 referred to above,y so will-not bedescribeci-,fvurther herein.

The individual screw, conveyors4 of the loading end bed of conveyors44rare positively connected for transmission of rotational movement fito the individualscrew conveyors of theelevatingbed of conveyorsri by a universal jointconnection '61 which may-be of `any conventional typelisee Figure 5). Thusconnectedzthe individualscrew conveyor sections of each of the conveyor beds 44 VVand .1.54 form continuous YScrew conveyors. reaching substantially the full length. of the Inaterial carrying compartment 225, which v:are adapted to be elevatedlnearftheir.discharge end. The construction of-thewindividual .screw .Iconveyors is the sameasldisclosed in my prior .Yapplication Ser. No. 73,460,0f reference-herein.

Meansfor driving theA screwrconveyorsfarepro- -vided at the loading end vof -the vehicle, substantially as vdescribed inmy -prior applicationSer. No. e7 3,460 -ofreference-ante. -Al.gearr:housing :69 (see Figure 7) contains intermeshingispurgears, and suitableshafting 'andvconnectors iorimparting rotary motion--to -the screwiconveyors The gears are driven through connecting fshafting from a suitable ltransmission 10by'twosseparate drive motors 1 I ,-1 I located one on each'sideY-ofithe vehicle below 4the overhanging hopper 26. As in the ,constructionY revealed in my prior application Ser. No, 73,460, the individualfscrew conveyors herein rotate alternately clockwise andfcounterclockwise, the three uppermostscrew conveyors as seen in Figure l being rotated -by,a `separate gear train and driving motor V1I fromthe'lower three conveyors of that figure. However, -it should be understood that severalrotational combinations ofthe individual screw conveyorsma-y be employed, such as having-the-upper'three screw conveyors of Figurel rotate counterclockwise, `and the lower-three-rotate-clockwise as viewed from the VloadingA end, without departing -from the spirit and scope'of-myinvention.

Use and operation The normal ,cycler of .operation of .a :vehiclefoi the -type disclosed hereincommences with,l the loading .of .the vehicle vvat the l.face rof the vmine seam being worked. Coal is introducedvlntovthe .hopper portion from .a suitable :loading qmachine,

, Y the screw conveyors arestarted up andthe coal distributed throughout'the coal carrying compartment25. When loaded thevehicle moves along theY mine iloor underY its own propulsive power to a central loading station where the coal isunloaded into waiting mine cars or Vother means fr"carrying the coal to the outside. When emptying the material carrying compartment the discharge endy is raised so as to elevate the coal to a higher level, as desired. After unloading, the carwill'be returned to the working face where the cycle will be repeated.

The elevating discharge conveyor section adapts the vehicle to situations where it ,is necessary or desirable to elevate the materialr being conveyed to some Vlevel above'the horizontal bottom of the material carrying compartment of the vehicle. This is accomplished by raising the elevating discharge chute 52 by means of hydraulic rams 54 as previously explained. While inv the present disclosure;V the screw conveyors forming thev conveyor structure along the bottom of the coal carrying compartment are assembled in three sections of varyinglineal pitch, mining conditions may dictate Vother` variations in number and arrangements of screw conveyors of Varying lineal pitches.

In the arrangement' disclosed herein, the coal or other loose material is moved fairly rapidly when first introduced into the material carrying compartment 25; it moves slower over the intermediate section, thereby causing the material to pile up to aid in filling the material carrying compartment, and then moves rapidly again at the discharge section to laid in quickly emptying the material carrying compartment. To accomplish this result the horizontal sections of screw conveyors in the loading bed of conveyors 44 and the discharge sections 4[il are shown herein :as being of greater lineal ight pitch than the intermediate sections 62. The coal will thus tend to pile up over the intermediate section of screw conveyors 62 since its lineal velocity along that portion of the coal carrying compartment will be slowed down, while the piling up function will be further enhanced by the rapid discharge of coal from the conveyors in the loading bed 44. Still further piling up will result due to added resistance to lineal movement of the coal caused by the upward inclined plane of the discharge chute portion 52 in its normal housed position. The combined effect of these operational features will help to more fully load the material carrying compartment 25 to near capacity than is possible under normal operation of conventional type shuttle cars presently employed in mines, wherein a. continuous belt or chain conveyor is used to load and empty the coa1 carrying compartment.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof and the arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore, I do not wish to be construed as limiting my invention to the speciiic embodiment illustrated, excepting as it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a self-propelled vehicle for transporting loose material, having wheeled steering and driving means, a main frame having a centrally diswith ofa conveyor structure Vdisposed along the bottom of said compartment and said chute including a'plurality of aligned conveyor sections, each consisting of individual helical screws disposed a parallel and closely adjacent relation` with one another, for moving said material continuously along the bottom of said compartment and said chute. 2. In a self-propelled vehicle for transporting loose material, having wheeled steering and driving means, a main frame having a centrally disposed'longitudinally extending material carry-- ing compartment, an elevating discharge chute at one end of said compartment, a material receiv ing hopper at the other end of said compartment,. the combination therewith of a conveyor struc-- ture disposed along the bottom of said compart-I ment and said chute including a plurality of aligned conveyor sections, each consisting of individual helical screw conveyors disposedr in a parallel and closely adjacent relation with one another, and common driving means for imparting rotary 'motion to a plurality of said individual screws for moving said material continuously along the bottom of said compartment and said chute. Y

3. In a self-propelled vehicle for transporting loose material, having wheeled steering and drivposed longitudinally extending material carrying compartment, an elevating discharge chute at one end of said compartment, the combination thereing means, a main frame having a centrally disposed longitudinally extending material carrying compartment, an elevating discharge chute at one end of said compartment, the combination therewith of a conveyor structure along the bottom of said compartment and said chute including a plurality of aligned conveyor sections, each consisting of individual helical screws disposed in a parallel and closely adjacent relation with one another, and means for simultaneously rotating said screws in alternately clockwise and counterclockwise directions for moving said material along the bottom of said compartment and said chute.

4. In a self-propelled vehicle for transporting loose material, a main frame having a longitudinally extending material carrying compartment deiined by a pair of laterally spaced vertical walls open at one end for discharging said material, a discharge chute supported between said walls at one end of said compartment and hinged at its inner end for vertical arcuate movement, means for elevating and lowering the outer end of said discharge chute, the combination therewith of a material conveyor structure extending substantially the full length of said compartment and chute including a plurality of aligned conveyor sections, each consisting of individual helical screws disposed in parallel and closely adjacent relation with one another, the helical screws of one section being connected by universal joints to the screws of the proximate section to permit pivotal movement of their respective conveyor sections.

5. In a self-propelled vehicle for transporting loose material, a main frame having a longitudinally extending material carrying compartment dened by a pair of laterally spaced vertical walls open at one end for discharging said material, a discharge chute supported between said walls at one end of said compartment and hinged at its inner end for vertical arcuate movement, means for'elevating and lowering the outer end of said discharge chute, the combination therewith of a material conveyor structure extending substantially the full length of said compartment and chute including a yplurality Yof aligned conveyor sections, eachA consisting of individual helical screws disposed in parallel and closely adjacent relation with one another, the helical screws of one section being connected by universal joints to the screws of the proximate section to permit pivotal movement of their respective conveyor sections and the screws of one ofsai`d conveyor sections being of greater linealaight pitchv than the screws of the proximate section. Y

6. n a self-propelled vehicle `for transporting loose material, having wheeled steering and driving means, a main frame having a centrally dis` posed longitudinally extending material carry-V ing compartment, an elevating'discharge chute at one end of said compartment, a material receiving Vhopper at `the Aother end of said com'- partment, a conveyor structure disposed along the bottom of said compartment and chute including a plurality of aligned and interconnected conveyor sections, each section consisting of a plurality of individual helical screw conveyors disposed in a parallel `and closely acl-V jacent relation with one another, vthe loading section of said conveyor sections 'having indi'- vidual -helical screws `of ,greater lineal flight pitch Vthan the screws `of the Ynext prox-imatesection whereby said material will pile up over's'aid proximate section due to minimize lineal velocity of` said material over that section and the rapid discharge @velocity of the loading section, .and common driving meansfor imparting rotarymotion to said individual screws of said sections for moving said materialrcon'tinuously along the botton ofwsaid compartment and chute.

' Y CHARLES APRATT.

REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the le of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name VDate 121,4,929 .Locke etal Apr.. 29, .18.'19 1,300,620 Joy Apr. '15, L11919 1,302,123 Bean et al Apr.. 29, 1919 1,564,926 Armstrong et al Dec. 8, ,1925 A1,972,031 'Pierson Aug. 28,193.4

'2,317,644 Russell Apr. 27, .1943 2,426,980 Bau sept. 9, ,1947 

